C.A.R.E. Team Mission

The Richland County Coroner’s Office will support and provide comfort to surviving family members and their friends through a partnership with area ministers and grief counselors.

The C.A.R.E. Team was the vision of Coroner Gary Watts when he was initially elected as Richland County Coroner in 2001. He wanted the Richland County Coroner’s Office to be something more than the death notification agency. The C.A.R.E. Team concept was born out of memories of a neighbor helping a neighbor. In today’s world neighbors may not know each other; may be at work; may be out of town; or may be unwilling to get involved.

C.A.R.E. is an acronym for Community Awareness Resources Education.

Community:

The importance of community involvement cannot be overstated. The Coroner and his deputies regularly attend community meetings and participate in community activities. Direct contact with the citizens of Richland County enables the community to have a voice.

Awareness:

Awareness is the first step in the process of prevention. The coroner’s Office helps to prevent injuries and death by directing attention to specific health and safety issues.

Response:

Following the loss of a loved one, emotional support is extremely important. The Coroner’s Office has established a partnership with area ministries and grief counselors to support and provide comfort to surviving family members and their friends.

Education:

The Coroner is dedicated to community education. Issues related to health, safety, and career development are discussed in area schools and other community settings. Flexible teaching styles paired with varied subject matter allow the Coroner and his deputies to connect with Richland County’s diverse community.

C.A.R.E. is an acronym for Community Awareness Resources Education.

The C.A.R.E. Team is composed of compassionate caring volunteers who are willing to reach out into the community to someone they do not know – offering a kind word and a caring presence when a family member receives notification of a death from our office.

In South Carolina it is the Coroner’s Office who notifies the next of kin of a death. With the C.A.R.E. Team a volunteer is on call to accompany the Deputy Coroner who notifies family of a death. A volunteer also may follow-up with a family contact within a few days or weeks after initial notification.

The concept of the C.A.R.E. Team is to have a volunteer available to be with a family. The volunteer helps fill in the gap in that short period of time between the delivery of death notification and the activation of the family’s personal support system.

C.A.R.E. Team volunteers offer support and emotional first aid that may include:

Bringing a calming presence to survivors

Helping contact and convene other family, friends and community support

Helping survivors know the next steps

Suggesting ways for survivors to care for themselves and one another

Providing information and resources on frequently asked questions

The C.A.R.E. Team sponsors a Holiday Memorial and Remembrance Gathering near the end of each year. Volunteers are invited to attend county burials to be with family and friends of the deceased.

There is a formal application and orientation process for C.A.R.E. Team volunteers. This process includes periodic training opportunities; continuing education in crisis care; understanding of crisis reactions, response and grief care.

We encourage other Coroners and counties in South Carolina to offer volunteer outreach to citizens served by their offices. We offer consultation and leadership in C.A.R.E. Team development to Coroner’s throughout the state. Most recently we have been in conversation with York, Lexington, Orangeburg, and Hampton counties who are in various stages of C.A.R.E. Team development and implementation.

Dr. Delores Gulledge, Thanatologist served as a volunteer team member for the first five years of the life of the C.A.R.E. Team. In 2005 she joined the Coroner-Medical Examiner staff as a Deputy Coroner to coordinate the volunteer C.A.R.E. Team. After the death of her own daughter, Dr. Dee added additional academic credentials to her personal experience. She focused on providing education and grief crisis comfort care for family and friends who experience the death of a loved one.

Contact Dr. Gulledge at 803-576-1799 or by gulledged@rcgov.us for additional information about the C.A.R.E. Team.